Sans
by GreyLiliy
Summary: See no Evil. Hear no Evil. Speak no Evil. Do everything you can.
1. Chapter 1

Ha ha. Got super motivated and churned this baby out! I've got my full length Saiyuki fic to work on again! Cheers! Thanks to everyone who made suggestions, but Nimblnymph's plot bunny won hands down and this baby was born. So thank her for the inspiration. Until then, thanks for reading, reviewing and being the all around awesome readers you are! Enjoy _Sans._

_**Sans**_

**Chapter 1**

It was yet another hot steamy day across the large country known as China as the famous Sanzo Party of four traveled onward within the comfort of their trusty Jeep. They had been on their journey for over a year now and were currently trying to avoid meeting up with a certain blue-eyed priest and his massive body guard. It looked like they were finally having some luck as they hadn't seen said annoyance in a week or two. However, this left them with another problem all together that was probably just as annoying.

"If we're lost, Hakkai, just say so."

"I beg your pardon, Sanzo, but we're not lost."

"Than where are we?"

"In a location not covered on my map."

Sanzo smacked his head and sunk into his seat at the other man chuckled brightly at their predictable predicament. They had been driving around this wooded wilderness for a day and a half now and there was no sign of a town, shed, cabin or any form of civilization. The driving demon's only saving grace was the fact they had stocked up heavily on cigarettes at the last town. The priest blew a sliver of blonde hair out of his face and turned to look out the window and the lush greenery that surrounded them. He would have been more aggravated about the whole endeavor, but the fact the two morons in the back were fast asleep and quiet made up for their lack of direction.

Hakkai in the meantime, pat Jeep's wheel in a comforting manor as they drove onward through the foliage. It was getting denser as they went, which tipped Hakkai off that they might be heading in the wrong direction. They were by no means lost mind you, just going the wrong way. Hakkai really needed to get a more encompassing map. Though, at the sound of Gojyo mumbling in the back and kicking his seat in his sleep, Hakkai smiled. Sanzo wasn't the only one who appreciated their quiet moments.

Sadly though, it was not meant to last as Goku twitched awake much like a puppy and rubbed his eyes childishly. He shoved one of Gojyo's long legs off of his knee before leaning up next to Sanzo's seat. Thankfully the stupid water sprite stayed asleep. Goku yawned and shoved the heel of his hand into his eye to rub it awake while he questioned his favorite priest. "Hey Sanzo, what's for breakfast?"

Sanzo rolled his eyes and silently mourned the death of his silence. If the monkey knew what was good for him, he'd keep his annoyance levels down to a a minimum while the other animal slept. "Nothing. We're still driving and it's the afternoon."

Goku's eyes widened as he slowly became more fully awake. He was serious in his horror when he realized what that statement had meant. "You mean we missed lunch?"

"I'm sorry, Goku." Hakkai looked in his rear view mirror to the panicked look on their youngest companion's face. "But you and Gojyo were dead asleep so Sanzo and I voted to continue driving instead of waking you."

"But when are we going to stop to eat? I'm starving." Goku whined over top of his growling stomach. It had woken up on cue to make its presence known. They surly had to stop to eat now that he was awake and hungry. Right? Right?

"We'll stop once we find a convenient stop, Goku."

Sanzo rapped his knuckles onto Goku's forehead with a frustrated growl. "Stop crowding me, Monkey and sit in the back. We'll eat eventually."

"But eventually is too far away!" Goku rubbed his forehead after plopping back into the plush cushion of the back seat. Sanzo didn't have to hit him. "I'll be wasted away by then!"

"Will you shut up about food already?" Gojyo snarled as he pushed himself into a straighter sitting position. "Guy can't get any sleep around here with all this wailing about food."

"Just perfect." Sanzo muttered and reached for a cigarette. Nicotine truly was his only friend.

Hakkai bit his lip to keep his smile from spreading too wide at the blonde sitting next to him slinking farther into his seat. "Come now, Gojyo. To be fair, Goku has been rather quiet all things considered."

"Yeah, sure." Gojyo yawned into his hand. The heat combined with hunger was leaving him rather drained. "Where are we anyway?"

"In the woods?"

"I can see that, Hakkai."

"It's his way of saying we're lost." Sanzo blew smoke out of his mouth. "What else is new?"

"Lost!" Goku pounced back in between the two front seats to look straight into Sanzo's violet eyes. Eye contact would mean Sanzo took him more seriously! "If we're lost than how are we gonna' get food?"

"Shut up! There are more important things in life than food! Like booze and women!" Gojyo pulled the monkey back into the seat. "Now stop distracting, Hakkai. He needs all the concentration he can get."

"You pervert! Those things aren't more important than food!"

"Both of you shut up!"

Hakkai kept his mouth shut for a change as Sanzo shouted at the others in his usual fashion. Hakkai would have chimed in for sure if he wasn't still bristling from Gojyo's rude comment considering his driving. Granted, he didn't have long to dwell on those thoughts as their Jeep came upon what looked to be a dead end. Hakkai pressed the breaks suddenly and inwardly smirked as his companions were thrown forward in their seats. "Seems we've come to a breaking point."

"You bastard, Hakkai!" Gojyo shouted and threw his red hair out of his face. "Give us some warning when you're gonna' do that!"

"Sorry." Hakkai's chuckle clearly said that he wasn't.

Sanzo winced at the cigarette burn in his robe from dropping his stick. "One of these days, Hakkai..."

"Does this mean we can eat?" Goku perked up from the back. He really, really hated it when Hakkai did that, but now that they were stopped they might as well do something productive with their time! Like eating!

"Every time I think there might be something else in your head I'm proven wrong." Sanzo sighed and pushed open the side door of the Jeep to have a look around.

"What are you doing, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked from behind his monocle. The monk was shaking ashes off his robe and Hakkai signed inwardly knowing he'd have to wash out burn marks later. Ah well, things that couldn't be helped. "Why did you get out of the Jeep?"

Sanzo snorted; like the man had to ask what he was doing. It was plain as day to see that he was getting out of the car because they stopped. "What's it look like? We're here at a dead end so we might as well take a break." Plus, feeding the monkey meant he might be free of his whining for a few minutes.

"YEAH!" Goku jumped out of the car to follow the blonde. "Now we can eat!"

Hakkai waited for Gojyo to exit the Jeep, grumbling the whole time about noisy monkeys mind you, before the demon exited himself. He gave Jeep a pat before letting the dragon transform back into it's cute fluffy white ball of fur self. "Come, let's set up camp and get something to eat, shall we little one?"

Sanzo was all prepared to take a seat on a fallen log when he heard the monkey hailing him from a short distance away. He knew Goku had wandered off a bit to look around before rounding back for food, but he didn't expect him to be dumb enough to bother Sanzo with whatever he found. "What do you want, Monkey?"

Goku waved excitedly at Sanzo motioning for him to follow. It was just so cool! "Come look at this! It's a huge statue in front of a cave or something!"

"What are you blathering on about?" The priest had decided to go for the easier of two annoyances. He could either ignore the monkey and have to put up with his constant pestering, or he could just find out what was so exciting and get it over with. And it was too hot to put up with anything for long today – even with the shade the trees provided. Upon reaching the brush that Goku was pointing to, Sanzo decided that the monkey had turned off his brain. "It's a statue of Buddha. You see those all the time. What's so exciting about that?"

"There's a cave behind it!"

"What's your point?"

"We should go in and look around!"

"Why?" Sanzo groaned and rubbed his eyes. For all he could see it was just a dark cave that was giving off a weird vibe. He didn't like it one bit. "Let's just get back to the others and eat."

"Too late, the 'others' have come to see what you two are doin'." Gojyo snickered as he came up behind the monk and the monkey. "Hakkai says that all we've got are canned goods so you might as well come get 'um."

"I could have told them myself, Gojyo." Hakkai chuckled as he joined his three friends after setting Jeep down with a bowl of feed; the poor thing was exhausted from skipping their lunch break. The others seemed to have gathered around a rather large statue made of stone. It was covered in moss from head to toe and looked as if no one had gone there in a while.

Goku pointed to the dark opening behind the pudgy statue (For a guy who was supposed to be not greedy or gluttonous he sure was fat!). He was hungry, but if all they had was canned he could wait a little while longer. No problem. "We found a cave."

Hakkai looked up and down the opening and noticed the placed stones down toward the entrance. They looked to have been placed their by human (or possibly demon) hands which lead him to believe this was not completely a natural structure. "I don't think that's a cave, Goku. It might be an old shrine of some sort."

"Cool." Goku grinned and pushed some hanging moss away. At one point, he would have been scared to go into a cave; but with Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo there to support him he had nothing to be scared of. "Well, I'm going to go in and look around!"

"Hey," Sanzo started but it was too late. Goku had already dashed off into the dark cave without a light. That boys senses were definitely from an animal of some sort if he could find his way around in there. Holding up his lighter, Sanzo reluctantly followed to drag the idiot back out by the tail. He was _definitely_ getting bad vibes from this place.

"Sanzo? You don't seem one to be up for an adventure." Hakkai chuckled as he followed the other man. It was always fun to tease them an when he was perturbed.

"I'm not. I'm dragging the monkey's ass back out."

"Well, I definitely gotta' see that!" Gojyo snickered around a newly placed cigarette. Watching the monkey get beat by his owner was way too much fun. "Wait up for me!"

Goku could feel the grin stretching on his face when he realized the other three were following behind him. It was hard to see in the dark, but Goku was determined to find out just what was hidden down here. As he got deeper in though, and as Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo caught up with him, he noticed that it was much brighter the farther in they got to the cave. Finally, after traveling the increasingly steep tunnel, the four found themselves staring into a large, open room.

"What'da know? They've got lights on down here." Gojyo whistled as he looked up. There were torches along all of the walls that were currently lit and burning brightly enough to make it look like daylight in the otherwise dark tunnel. The room was mostly open save for some weird statues up at the front and a mural of some sort. Though, the lights rounding the walls were far more interesting to look at. "Wonder what's keeping those lit?"

"It'd almost be best not to dwell on that." Hakkai came close to mumbling from his distraction. Sanzo had tensed up and had an almost frighteningly sober look on his face. "Is something the matter, Sanzo?"

"No, it's nothing." Sanzo shook his head out and looked towards the front of the room where Goku was inspecting the three stone statues lined up neatly. That bad feeling in his gut had yet to diminish, but it wasn't anything specific yet. He didn't need Hakkai mothering them any more than necessary with worry. Still, best not to linger in places that could be sacred. "Monkey, you've seen now move your ass."

"What's with the funny looking monkeys?" Goku stared at the three statues sitting by themselves up front. The three monkeys was each posed differently: the first had it's hands covering it's eyes, the second covering it's ears and the third was holding its long spidery fingers over its mouth. On the back wall there was a mural of a fourth monkey covering its stomach made out of tiny tiles; Goku thought it looked hungry. He instinctively found his own hands covering his gut in response.

"Ah, did the monkey find some friends?" Gojyo smirked and walked up to look at the monkey in the middle covering its ears. He could feel Sanzo and Hakkai join him. Hakkai seemed to be interested in the stonework on the monkey covering its mouth, while the monk was glaring at the shy one. "Though, they do look familiar."

"They should, Gojyo." Hakkai chuckled as he knelt down in front of the silent monkey. The carving work on the statue was impressive; it had to have been done by hand with very precise instruments. The monkey almost looked alive with each individual hair carved; though it was very much made from stone. "It is a pretty famous saying."

"What is it, Hakkai?" Goku stepped back a few paces to get a better look at the bigger monkey on the wall since his friends were occupied with the statues. Something about stone monkeys made him uneasy.

"I'm surprised Sanzo hadn't brought it up at some point. It did come from Buddhist teachings originally." Hakkai smiled softly. "See no evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil."

"Huh?" Goku turned down to the brunette and cocked his head to the side. The words rattled around in his head, but there were too many possibilities. It was safest just to ask. "What does that mean?"

Sanzo sighed hard enough to blow his hair out of his face. They needed to leave, not get caught up in a morality lesson. "It means a lot of things, but the three monkeys each represent on of the three points."

"But there are four monkeys." Goku tilted his head back and was tempted to kick the water sprite for snickering at him. It wasn't his fault he hadn't heard about this before!

"That's because there's often a fourth point tacked onto the list that says 'Do no Evil.' It's just the popular phrase leaves off the last little tidbit of advice." Hakkai stood up and sat a hand to pet the top of the monkey's head. "Essentially the phrase means that if one abstains from seeing, hearing, or speaking evil things that evil will not be reflected in your own actions. It's mostly a warning not to take part in bad things, which is why they're often referred to as the 'Three Wise Monkeys.'"

"Ha! _Wise_ Monkeys." Goku smirked and pointed at the water sprite. "Think of that every time you call me a stupid monkey!"

"Oh, so you admit you're a monkey then?" Gojyo laughed before taking a deep drag on his cigarette.

"I'm not a monkey!" Goku shouted and stomped his foot onto the ground, though instead of the thud he was expected he heard a rather loud 'click.' "What?"

As all the lights in the room flipped off, Sanzo cursed himself for not pulling all of them out of the room sooner. He really needed to learn to listen to his intuition; he was the most holy monk in the faith; if he couldn't trust his instincts than what good were they? He reached his hand out to grip the monkey statue in front of him as a brace. "Shit."

"Hey, uh guys."

"Gojyo?" Hakkai turned to where he heard his red-headed friend stutter out the tiny phrase. It wasn't like him to sound scared. "What's wrong?"

"The monkeys' eyes are glowing." Gojyo pointed (not that anyone could really see it) towards the now creepy looking statues. "Is it just me or is that really freaky?"

"Yes, perhaps we should leave." Hakkai carefully took a few steps back, but was hindered when he heard yet another click and something snapped around his ankles. He nearly stumbled and fell, but caught his balance before the braces could get the better of him. He heard Gojyo let out a 'SHIT' and heard a thud meaning that his friend too must have been caught up in something. "Are you alright, Gojyo?"

"Did I sound alright to you?" Gojyo growled and held his nose; at least it wasn't bleeding. "What about you over there monk? Did you get attacked by something around the ankles, too?"

"Shut up." Sanzo pulled up at his feet, but it was no good. The restraints were latched tight. "What the hell did you do, monkey?"

"I don't know." Goku stuttered. His vision was hindered because of the sudden darkness, but he red light from the eyes gave him just enough to go by. All three of his friends were standing in front of the three statues and strapped to the ground by something. His first instinct was to head to Sanzo and help him first. "I'm coming to help!"

"Stay where you are, monkey." Sanzo shouted. "We don't know if there's anything left to trigger in here."

"Right." Goku hated this waiting around stuff. He never knew what to do; things were just so much easier when you could sense your enemy and beat the shit out of it than waiting for something to come at you. "What are we going to do?"

"First of all, I think we should stay calm." Hakkai crossed his arms and looked at the statue. "We need to figure out why there were traps in here to begin with."

"Maybe there's a treasure or something?" Gojyo started before smacking his head. "I'm such an idiot." The half-breed pulled out his lighter and clicked it on to produce a tiny light. "It's not much, but it's better than total darkness, right?"

Sanzo followed suit and clicked on his own lighter for the second time. Holding it up higher he turned to look at the larger monkey on the wall. There was something up with that one; why was 'Do no Evil' in such a high spot? "Hey, Goku. Can you read what's on the wall?" Sanzo would do it himself, but he regretfully could not make out the words that lined the top of the monkey mural even with the extra bit of light.

"Yeah, I think so." Goku trotted up closer in between his two friends to get a closer look. It was times like this he was thankful for his extra keen senses. "It says 'To those who want peace a sacrifice must be made.' Wonder what that means?"

"I sure hope sacrifice doesn't mean us." Gojyo suddenly really wanted these shackles to come off his legs. "So help me if a pendulum with a blade on it pops out of no where and we die I'm haunting your ass, monkey!"

"Hey! It's not my fault! Hakkai tripped the cuffs!"

"But it's your fault the light is out!"

"How could I have known about that!"

"Than it's your fault we're down here in the first place!"

"Both of you shut the hell up!" Sanzo yelled with enough force to put out his lighter. He huffed and tried to relight the thing but failed; it must be out of fluid. "Shit."

"Sorry, Sanzo." Goku frowned and ducked his head.

"Just, stop it and sit down." Sanzo took in a deep breath. As he heard the soft 'plop' on the stone he turned to where he thought Hakkai was latched. "Hakkai, try breaking these things with your chi. I'd shoot at it but it's a little dark."

"I'll try." Hakkai nodded and gathered a small ball of chi in his hands, but before he could bend down to the restraints the chi was sucked from his hand into the back wall in a whoosh of air that almost knocked him over. More energy was yanked from his body than he had wanted, but it eventually stopped as the monkey on the back wall started to glow with a faint green outline. "Well that was rude."

"Now what the hell's going on?" Gojyo muttered as he shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness in the room. "Some god or goddess up there must really be laughing it up at us right now."

(Actually, the one known as the Merciful Goddess was predisposed driving her favorite man servant out of his mind to be watching the four travelers who should have been driving by now, but we digress.)

"It took Hakkai's chi for something. Whatever it was, we turned something on." Sanzo licked his lips as that bad feeling increased by about ten fold. The restraints and the lights were just some booby trap; this, this was something else. Something dangerous. "You still alive over there, Hakkai?"

"Drained, but I'm fine." Hakkai looked down at the monkey dead in front of him. The glowing red eyes seemed to be taunting him where the mouth could not. "I wonder if the monkeys are the key to getting out?"

"You want me to smash them?" Goku piped up from the floor. That usually worked with most things.

"Just hold your horses." Gojyo turned back. "That could make the big one up there angry or something."

Sanzo in the meantime, ignored his companions to look up at the text on the wall. _To those who want peace, a sacrifice must be made._ That was the key to this; it had to be. Though, now that the monkey was glowing he could see the word lit up along the bottom of the monkey. Sanzo found himself reading it out loud before he could stop himself. "Sans."

At the rumbling of the cavern, Sanzo decided that saying that word out loud at been very, very, _stupid._ "Damn."

"What did you do, monk?" Gojyo latched onto the deaf monkey to keep himself from falling. He could hear Goku crawling to his feet in the back. Though, before he could yell out his frustrations, Gojyo found himself paying attention to the voice coming from the front of the room.

"_To the one who has seen evil."_

Sanzo clutched at his arms as a chill engulfed his body and constricted his breathing. He saw _crimson blood_ covering the walls. Sanzo could feel Goku pulling at his sleeves and wailing at him with flurries of 'Sanzo!', but it was only a blur at the side of his mind. A _torn limb_ flung carelessly to rest on soft t_atami mats_. A discarded _crown_ stained in _red_; blonde _hairs_ strung in knots; gleaming _teeth_ that gnashed; a strong _white back_ rendered to shreds. Vision upon vision of never ending memories. Sanzo found his hands gripping his cheeks as the tears poured down his face before he could stop them.

"_To the one that has heard evil."_

Gojyo had wondered what was causing the monk to freak out, but he found out soon enough as old familiar sounds started to linger in his ears. Sounds he never wanted to hear again; sounds that drove him to smoke. "Shut up!" A _creaking_ mattress that could be heard through thin walls. "Shut up!" The lustful _moans_ of the woman he called 'Mother.' "Please, shut up!" The pained _grunts_ of his brother thrusting and even louder _creaks_ and _wails_ of 'Dear!' "Oh God, please make it stop!" Gojyo fell to his knees covering his ears willing the sounds of his childhood to go away and be forgotten where they belonged. His crimson hair covered his eyes, but the thin locks did nothing to help shield his ears.

"_To the one who has spoken evil."_

Hakkai saw each of his friends drop one by one and figured sooner or later it would be his turn. All he wanted to do was run to his tormented friends sides to comfort them with soft words, but he soon had his own troubles as he suddenly could hear his own voice filling his head. _I love you._ "What?" _Let's go home, okay? _ "What is this?" _I'll promise I'll protect you._ "How was that evil? I meant those words! They were truth!"_ One of you?_ Hakkai soon found himself repeating Gojyo's current mantra. "Shut up!" _I think I still hate demons._ "Be quiet! What are you trying to prove?" Hakkai could feel the anger at his words taken out of their context. What evil was there to be found? "They weren't wrong, were they?"

Goku had been practically screaming to get Sanzo to snap out of it; but the blonde had been reduced to his knees and was still crying his eyes out and clutching at his face in a painful grip; he could see the red welts forming where his nails were digging in. But more importantly: Sanzo was _crying._ "Sanzo! Please!" However, Sanzo was unable to hear his pleas and Goku was unable to assist any further when he was blown back into the middle of the room by a strong force from the back wall. He looked up in time to watch his dearest friends be hit by three beams of light from the back wall. Goku had to cover his own eyes before watching his three friends drop to the ground and the lights flicker back on.

"_I release thee."_

Ignoring the final exclamation of the fourth monkey, Goku ran to Sanzo's side as soon as he could get up to find him passed out. He cradled the man's head in his lap before turning to the others. Gojyo was moaning and holding his head while Hakkai was inspecting his ankle; the restraints had released them at some point during the last flash of light. Sanzo remained unconscious for the moment. "Are you guys okay?"

Hakkai opened his mouth to reply to Goku, but he found no words coming out. His hand instantly found itself on his own throat as he tried desperately to gasp out a sound; not even a rasp came out. Hakkai couldn't talk; he couldn't even make a peep. He started motioning towards Gojyo to get the man's attention; Goku was clearly preoccupied with Sanzo at the moment. But the red-head had his own issues it seemed. Gojyo was knocking the side of his head like he was trying to knock water out of them.

"What the hell was that shit?" Gojyo spoke, or he thought he did. It was damn quiet in this room and he couldn't hear a thing. Hakkai was moving his mouth and waving at him, but it was no good. "Can't hear you, Hakkai. You gotta' speak up."

Hakkai would have spoken up if he could, but that seemed to be impossible. _Well isn't this nice?_

Goku looked up from Sanzo to the water sprite; he was acting kinda funny. "Hey, Gojyo!" No response; Goku tried again. "Gojyo! Gojyo! Hey you stupid water sprite! Stop ignoring me!"

As Goku got angrier from being ignored, Hakkai noticed something very wrong with Gojyo. Gojyo was too childish to ignore taunting; surly he would have fired something back if he had heard the boy...Hakkai turned his head so fast to the front of the room his neck almost snapped. _Hear no evil._ The statue in front of Gojyo represented the phrase 'hear no evil' so now Gojyo was deaf? Hakkai turned to his own statue. _Speak no evil._ Well, considering Hakkai was no supposedly mute that made sense. _But what about Sanzo?_

The blonde monk groaned as he put his hand over his eyes. He had a migraine headache larger than the continent of China. He swatted Goku's hands away as the boy started to coddle him when he showed signs of life and rolled over on his side away from the meddling hands. He blinked his eyes open and stared out into the dark room. "God dammit' couldn't they at least turn the lights back on?"

"Uh, Sanzo." Goku started slowly as he stared at the man's back. He gulped when the man tensed. "The lights are on."

"What?" Sanzo reached his hand up in front of his face and was met with only darkness. He touched his fingers to his face and confirmed that his eyes were open. "But it's pitch black..."

"Sanzo?" Goku turned the man's shoulder around so that he was facing the boy and Goku let out a stunned gasp. Where there should have been beautiful violet eyes, were milky white eyes with small gray lines outlining the now sickeningly pale pupils. Goku found his fingers reaching out to touch around the corners of his face of their own volition. "What happened to your eyes?"

The monk flinched when he felt the warm fingers on his face. He hadn't seen Goku's fingers coming towards his face. He couldn't see. _See no evil. _Sanzo smacked Goku's hands away with as much force as he could muster, but almost missed them. This wasn't happening. "Don't touch me."

"But Sanzo."

"Just don't touch me!" Sanzo yelled and wiped his cheeks. The stains from his crying were still there and they disgusted him.

Goku stood up slowly and looked at the other two. Hakkai had walked over and had a morose look on his face as he watched the display. The frown on his face spoke volumes more than if he had said something. Gojyo was looking at them too, but with a more frustrated look was displayed across his face. Like he was concentrating really hard on something. "Are you guys okay? Some thing's wrong with Sanzo!"

"Sorry, monkey." Gojyo growled at his inability to hear. Goku was talking to him and Sanzo was shouting, but all he heard was _nada_. Not even a buzzing noise or that weird tone you hear when your ears ring. "Can't hear you."

"Hakkai?" Goku looked up hopelessly to the most mature one of their group. The brunette merely shook his head and patted his throat. Goku found himself gulping and turning back to his master.

Sanzo sat thoughtfully as he stared straight forward. He would never admit it, but he wished Goku was still touching him; at least then he'd know where someone was. Sanzo could hear the others, but he couldn't see their faces to read what was really going on in their heads or know what they were doing. It was disturbing on a level far more dangerous than just a lack of vision. At least he knew whatever happened, occurred with the other two as well. "So Gojyo can't hear and Hakkai can't speak." Sanzo guessed on that last one; it only made sense if he was the one that couldn't see.

Goku nodded before remembering that Sanzo couldn't see him. "Yeah." Hakkai had taken a seat on the ground next to Gojyo and had started rubbing his hand. Those two had always had a way of communicating without talking, so he figured they'd be okay. But what could Goku do for Sanzo? He hated being touched and he was always angry when Goku was loud. Granted, that was stuff Goku had no problem dealing with. It was those chalky eyes were really starting to unnerve the boy. It was like they were dead; Goku didn't like associating Death with Sanzo in _any _way. "What are we going to do now?"

"That is the question, isn't it?" Sanzo blinked and rubbed at his eyes but he was still met with nothing but darkness. He tried not to be scared.


	2. Chapter 2

Ack, this is harder to write than I originally thought. It's all that lack of dialogue. Anyway, here's the next bit! I hope you like it and thanks for reading and reviewing. Hopefully things will work out better in the next chapter.

**Chapter 2**

As far as days went, Hakkai was sure that today could have gone better. The group had spent more time than they should have in the strange room looking for a switch or trigger or something to reverse whatever spell had been cast, but their efforts were futile. Hakkai himself had searched every inch of that room and found nothing. To be blunt, the demon hadn't even been able to find the original switches that had turned off the lights and activated the mechanism in the first place. Considering the entire thing turned on automatically when Hakkai lit his chii, this seemed to make sense. Frustrating as it was, though, Hakkai could take comfort in the fact he was not the only one who came up short in their search for a cure.

Sanzo was unable to see anything and therefore could not point out or look for anything. Hakkai would have described objects to him, but he could not speak and nor could he write anything down on paper for him to read. Gojyo or Goku could have read it for him, but Hakkai doubted their coordination skills outside of a battle. Not to mention they had no paper or writing utensil to use in the first place. Therefore, Sanzo spent his time sitting in place and twitching his fingers on the stone floor occasionally and swallowing. Hakkai could tell that he was holding back a comment of some sort; whether it was for comfort or frustration he couldn't tell. Either way, the monk was grumpy from being more or less completely useless.

Gojyo, well; he was quieter than usual from his inability to hear. His random comments went unanswered for the most part because someone was either too angry to reply, unable to reply or too worried about a certain priest to have properly replied. Eventually Gojyo stopped mumbling altogether and started looking around the room. His searching efforts proved as futile as Sanzo's in the end. For starters, he didn't know what he was doing or what he was looking for. And if he asked a question, not that Gojyo would mind you, it's not like he could hear the answer. So he angrily smoked a cigarette while kicking the stone monkey statue every so often. It put him in a situation much like the monk on the floor.

Goku tried his hardest to find any sort of clue, but also came up empty handed. Again, Hakkai saw that coming. Despite his efforts lifting the floor stones and looking behind wall panels, the boy kept looking back at Sanzo every few minutes to have been any help searching. Poor boy was worried sick but too scared to actually go over and talk to him. The first time Sanzo had slapped him was still stinging in more places than one. That left Hakkai to be the only competent one to search the room and he couldn't find anything. That room was as big a mystery when they left as when they first ventured into the dank cave.

Needless to say, the four headed back to camp with low spirits. Gojyo pouted during the entire walk, which didn't surprise Hakkai in the least. Actually, it was Sanzo's behavior that shocked him. The monk had allowed Goku to lead him while they walked. The younger member of their team let his master use his shoulder as a crutch. Hakkai was impressed Sanzo's pride let him accept the help, but then again, Sanzo did fall about three times flat on his face tripping over stones before grabbing onto the monkey's shoulder. Hakkai supposed even Sanzo's pride had a sense of self preservation.

The demon rubbed his eyes with his forefingers before lifting his cup of tea for a sip. At the moment, Sanzo and Gojyo were sleeping. They didn't have much else to do all things considered and he could see their two forms curled up into their individual blankets on the soft dirt. Gojyo's hands were covering his ears in some futile attempt to blame his deafness on a temporary physical matter than the current unexplainable situation. Sanzo looked the same way he always did while he slept; if one ignored the pained expression that spoke of bad dreams. Hakkai turned the little cup in his hands as he stared at the chipped edges. The fire was crackling softly and the flames dancing. He supposed of all the senses he could have lost, speech was the least debilitating.

Goku, however, was still in the cave. He had snuck back in some short time ago after their two companions went to sleep from frustration or apathy; whichever it might have been. Hakkai was sure he was trying to find that one little clue that they had missed, but Hakkai doubted the lad found anything useful. Goku probably felt guilty. The green-eyed demon knew that feeling very well. Hakkai finished off the last of his tea and set the cup down on the little stack of dishes from dinner. He'd wash them later. It's not like anyone would have noticed them even if their senses were in tact.

One thing did bother Hakkai, in a way. He hated to let those thoughts linger on his mind, but he still felt the bitterness creep up behind him to pounce. Goku was the only one to come from the room unscathed, but then again he was also the only one to not have been latched to the floor like a sacrifice. But there was also the forth monkey to consider. Was Goku not affected by 'Do no Evil' because the forth monkey ran the mechanism, or because death or becoming completely paralyzed was too harsh a release for 'those who want peace?' It was puzzling and driving Hakkai insane. However, he couldn't appease those thoughts for much longer; it only gave him a headache. The important thing, is to concentrate on how to deal with the cards they'd been dealt for the moment.

If they were to be attacked by demons at the moment, the Sanzo Party would be at a serious disadvantage. Sanzo's gun would be useless in the chaos of the fighting if he couldn't see his targets. Hakkai was sure the man's hearing was well tuned, but he neither had practice to test it out nor could they afford the consequences should he fail. Hakkai stood up from his seat in front of the fire to gather his own bedroll. He'd prepare for bed before dragging Goku to sleep. At least Goku would be fine in a fight, and Hakkai was sure to carry his own weight as well. At least he didn't have to worry about shouting warnings; Sanzo wouldn't know where to look and Gojyo couldn't hear him anyway. Speaking, Hakkai was unsure how Gojyo's fighting would be affected; it depended on how much he needed to hear his chain as he fought with the Shakujou.

To be safe, Hakkai considered their group to be down to two effective fighters and decided to call it a night.

-----

Goku sat in the middle of the large room and stared up at the monkey mural matted on the wall. It stared down at him with that same unnerving smile as it lorded over the other three statues that mimicked the afflictions his friends suffered. They no longer glowed and the chains that had captured his friend's ankles sat motionless on the stone floor. They sparkled once in a while when the light in the room would shift and flicker. The young monkey king, however, kept his eyes trained on the big one that looked hungry. The leader.

He wanted to smash the thing into oblivion.

At first, Goku had been confused about what was going on. Then he had just been scared for Sanzo as he watched the man stumble and fall. Something just seemed to break inside of the boy watching the most important person in his life struggling. Following that, Goku was hurt when his attempts to help were met with a slap and harsh words. He chose to block some of them from his mind; Sanzo was just frustrated. Relief came shortly after when Sanzo's nose started bleeding from tripping into the Buddha statue. Not because Sanzo was hurt, of course, but because he finally took Goku's shoulder to keep from falling down. But, now that Sanzo was asleep and safe at camp with Hakkai and Gojyo, Goku was just angry.

He didn't know how to fix Sanzo and that monkey just kept smiling. It didn't bring peace to anyone! They hadn't even asked it for help! He was angry at it for hurting his friends and he was angry at it for scaring him. The image of Sanzo's milky eyes was burned into his own retinas and they gave Goku shivers. He was glad the monk couldn't see him, or he'd notice that Goku was making every effort to not look the man in the face. Sanzo's new eyes were just too creepy. There was an eerie quality about them now; and it just wasn't just about the pale milky color they had turned. They were empty; almost like he had no eyes at all. Like little moons that couldn't muster enough light.

But more importantly, Goku was angry at himself. If he hadn't been curious and explored the caves than none of this would have happened. The water sprite was right when he said it was all the monkey's fault in the cave. Goku tightened his hands into fists as he came close to growling in frustration. Not only was it his fault, but he couldn't do anything about it. And Sanzo wouldn't hit him for it either. Sure, Sanzo was being even more mean than usual, but he hadn't accused Goku for this mess at all! Goku wanted Sanzo to smack him and call him stupid and admonish him. That way he could feel a bit better, but it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon. That just meant Goku would have to try extra hard to make everything better. No matter what.

He wasn't sure just what he could do for the others, but he'd try his best. He'd make sure to watch Sanzo's feet and keep him from falling. He'd open his ears so he could ear things that Gojyo couldn't. And he'd have to help Hakkai out with his voice. Somehow. Goku held his head in his hands as his brain throbbed. This whole mess was too sudden and too complicated. Even if Goku was determined, Sanzo's harsh words and rejection earlier drained him. He knew that he needed to help, but the specifics were lost on him. How do you help people who refuse help on a daily basis?

Goku turned around in his seat when he heard a soft tapping on the rock wall. Hakkai had been hitting the wall with a small stone to get his attention. The older demon started motioning with his hand for Goku to head over and the monkey sighed. He didn't need to be told that it was time to go back to camp. The brunette dragged himself up from the ground and started heading towards the exit where the other brunette was waiting. Usually Hakkai's smile would make him feel better, but the older demon was using his fake smile today. Goku tried not to sigh. "I'm coming."

Hakkai smiled softly and pat the boy on the back as he exited through the tunnel. He was thankful Goku was coming without a fuss, but he _had_ been in that cave for a few hours now. Surly even Goku would have given up and come to reason by then. Someone needed to be sensible during this mess; facts were facts. The Sanzo Party had adjustments to make; there was no telling how long they'd be stuck with these new complications.

The walk back to camp was quiet; for once, Hakkai missed the noise.

------

"I'm sorry sir, I can't help you."

Hakkai frowned deeply and wrote an 'It's quite alright' on a sheet of paper in a quick scrawl. It was almost insane how close they had been to the next town. It almost made Hakkai angry considering they could have spent the night at an inn instead of camping out, but it couldn't be helped now. Hakkai nodded to the store clerk and headed out to find Gojyo. The man had wandered off somewhere, probably to look for a bar for a drink. That actually sounded really good about now. As Hakkai left the store, Jeep wandered over to sit on his shoulder. He pet the little dragon affectionately before walking down the street.

To be blunt, the demon was starting to get frustrated. Despite now being able to communicate with a pen and pad of paper he had purchased, the townsfolk were little to no help at all. No one had heard nor seen the cave and temple that was barely two miles from their town. In fact, the idea of staying at an inn tonight seemed to be the only relief of the day. Though, getting upset about things wasn't going to get him anywhere. Therefore, Hakkai put his efforts into finding his companion so that they could go pick up Sanzo and Goku from camp.

Thankfully, Gojyo was easy to find; he was in the bar two inches from the bookstore where Hakkai had been questioning the owner. He almost laughed when he saw Gojyo at the bar sipping a beer. Things were routine enough in a bar for Gojyo to order a drink and have no problems even without his hearing. Granted, that wasn't the humorous bit – the lady saying 'Excuse me?' at Gojyo's back and being ignored, however, was quite a bit. Hakkai snickered as he walked over to the woman while writing something quickly on his pad. He tapped the young lady on the shoulder and held it up for her to read.

"He's deaf?" The young brunette gasped cutely and held her hand to her cheek. She looked at the man with the red hair again who was now waving his mug at the bartender for a refill. "No wonder he was ignoring me. And to think I thought I did something wrong."

_What did you need, Miss?_ Hakkai wrote on his pad; the way he was going through sheets he'd have to buy about six or seven more of these. Not to mention he'd have to exercise his hand more; all this writing was starting to cramp his hand. Maybe he could learn to just write less.

"Oh, I'm trying to get signatures for a petition. I was just about to tap him on the shoulder."

Hakkai chuckled at the woman's bright smile. This was the first time he'd noticed her clipboard resting in the hand on her thigh. Hakkai continued his writing conversation with the young lady while Gojyo remained oblivious at the bar. _You're quite persistent. It seems you'd been saying 'Excuse me' for some time, yes?_

"It's a good cause." The young lady held out the clip board and pen. Maybe she could get his signature instead. "We're trying to save an school house they're trying to tear down. It's been up for over fifty years! It's a historic building and all it needs is a little refurbishing to have classes again."

_How nice._ Hakkai set his pad under his arm to quickly sign the document. He always did have a soft spot for schools. It was probably the teacher in him. _I'll sign for the both of us._

"Thank-you!" The girl bowed quickly before heading out the door. Hakkai laughed to himself and smiled. Gojyo would never forgive him if he knew a girl that cute had been standing behind him the entire time without him noticing. He just wouldn't tell him then. Hakkai instead, tapped Gojyo on the shoulder.

"Oh, Hakkai. When'd you get here?" Gojyo swiveled in his seat. He had been reflecting on the group's situation at the bar for a while now. He was just grateful that the bartender understood his request for a beer and throwing money on the table. Though, Gojyo was still down from not joining in on any of the poker games. It'd been a while since he'd played, but taking on suckers required witty banter. The water sprite needed to learn how to lip read or some shit, and now, that bastard Hakkai looked way too amused by something. The redhead took another sip from his beer. An amused Hakkai never meant good things.

_Just a moment ago._

Gojyo was also never going to get used to that stupid pad. He had to squint at Hakkai's handwriting and it meant he had to actually think about what he was reading. Plus, reading it was never the same as hearing him say it in that oh too polite voice of his. Granted, it was still amazing how he made the pad equally annoying as that voice. "How went the questioning?"

_Bad. No one knows anything. Did you find the inn?_

"Yeah, it's across the street."

_Ah, well we should head back now and pick up Sanzo and Goku._ Hakkai licked his lips when Gojyo grimaced before pouting.

"Do we really have to? The monk's just going to be cranky as hell."

_Yes. _

"Damn it." Gojyo frowned as he stared at the pad. There was something creepy about Hakkai drawing smiley faces at the end of his sentences. Especially when they matched the one on his _own_ face. "Just let me finish my beer first." Gojyo was going to need it.

------

"I'm blind, not invalid!" Sanzo smacked Goku's grabbing hands away from him. He couldn't see them, but he was getting better at hitting them. The first few attempts he had missed and merely fell forward from the force. Readjusting his balance from the sudden lack of depth perception was becoming a total pain in his side. But not nearly as much as the monkey's hands that had become even more grabby than usual. "Stop it!"

"I'm just trying to help you up, Sanzo!" Goku huffed as he watched Sanzo grope the air for a tree or something to brace himself with. It would be so much easier if he just took Goku's hand! Sanzo was cooperating just fine yesterday, even if just for a little bit, so what was wrong with doing the same now? "You're going to hurt yourself."

"Shut up." Sanzo felt rough tree bark under his fingers and pressed his palm flat upon the surface to hold his wait as he stood up. He took his hand back from the tree and rubbed off some of the loose bark that clung to his dry skin. It was still weird adjusting to the total darkness around him. And if that wasn't bad enough, it was far too quiet. "What happened to Hakkai and the other idiot? I can't hear them."

Goku huffed and kept his eyes level on Sanzo's chin and mouth. Any higher and he'd be looking at _them._ "Hakkai went to scout out where we were and look for people close by since that cave looks like an old shrine. Gojyo went with him."

"And they left me here, because?" Sanzo growled and could feel his fingers tightening in the fist that formed of its own accord.

"You were asleep."

"That so." Sanzo snorted and reached back for that tree he had used earlier. Once he located it, he leant up against it and stuck his hands in his pockets. He needed a cigarette. Sanzo didn't believe for one minute that Hakkai just let him sleep in; he didn't bring him because they thought he was useless without his eyes. Sanzo pulled out a cigarette and put it to his lips automatically; he didn't need to see to smoke. Though, after all of his falls yesterday, Sanzo was starting to believe himself that maybe Hakkai had good reason to believe he was no better than an invalid. Sanzo inhaled deeply on his cigarette as the anger flooded his system.

"Yes. Hakkai said he didn't want to wake up you. Something about you not sleeping well."

"Which just means he didn't sleep at all last night, the bastard."

"He's just worried about you."

"He should worry about himself and the water sprite. I'll be fine."

Goku frowned and sat in the dirt. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But you were falling down so much yesterday-"

"Shut up." Sanzo pulled his cigarette away from his mouth and held it against his thigh. He could smell the smoke in the air and it was strangely comforting.

"But you were! What if you really hurt yourself?"

Sanzo's breaths were shallow. The monkey was starting to step into dangerous territory. Sanzo didn't have time to deal with this shit right now. "I told you I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Like that has ever mattered." Sanzo snorted and rubbed his face with his free hand. It felt the same to him; how much worse could it look than usual? There was nothing wrong with him other than this blasted blindness. "I said I'm fine so I'm fine. Drop it."

"You're lying." Goku growled.

"Excuse me?"

"It's just what I think." Goku shut his mouth and looked at the ground. He wanted to shout out that he could sense that Sanzo was nervous. That he could hear his heart beating faster and his breaths were short. But he didn't say anything; it would just make things worse in the long run.

"Well, keep your thoughts to yourse-shit!"

"Sanzo?" Goku looked up at the expletive and stared as Sanzo sucked on his finger close to the knuckle. That was normally where he held his cigarette. Sure enough, on the ground was a smoldering butt; Sanzo had let his cigarette eat away to the hilt. It had burnt Sanzo's hand and those golden eyes could see the red mark next to his knuckle. Goku smashed out the remainder of the flame with his thumb; barely hurt Goku at all.

"Don't say a word." Sanzo snarled. He didn't need to see the monkey to know he was looking at him with accusing eyes. Those stupid golden eyes; they'd never leave his mind.

Goku sighed and stood up. He really wished that Hakkai and Gojyo would get back soon. Normally he liked spending time alone with Sanzo, but right now the atmosphere was smothering. He tried to ignore it when Sanzo lit up another cigarette.


	3. Chapter 3

Ug. It's been a while, anyway – enjoy the next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Chapter 3**

"I know it's you, Hakkai." Sanzo snorted as he sat on the bed with his head against the wall. He had run out of cigarettes a few hours ago and had sent Goku out to get more just a moment earlier. The boy still wasn't back yet and that was just fine with him. Sanzo had been spending quite a bit of his time concentrating on the sounds around him, so the soft footsteps and click of the door was a sure sign he had a guest. "And I don't need to see you to know the look on your face. It's obvious it's you. Gojyo wouldn't visit and the monkey can't shut up."

Hakkai smiled genuinely as he approached the age-worn bed where the monk was scrunched in the corner. They had been checked into the inn for two days now and none of their moods had lifted much since. The demon found himself dropping onto the bed next to Sanzo and nearly sighed when the blonde stiffened. Sanzo would never admit it, but Hakkai knew he was having issues adjusting to his new handicap.

However, though Sanzo's eyes may not work anymore, Hakkai couldn't help but think the new color was pretty. The milky color was soothing and deep, almost an all-knowing sort of feeling. There was depth behind his eyes that was more knowledgeable than the previous intimidation his violet eyes had shown so well. Hakkai liked to think it represented reaching nirvana; they had seen everything and so therefore no longer need to see anything.

Hakkai shook his head and laughed to himself at his own thoughts; well at least he laughed in his head. Sanzo needed to get out like the others. Gojyo had been occupying himself with booze and women as he finally figured out that having a disability was a turn on for some ladies. They thought his lack of hearing was 'cute' and were having fun writing him notes and playing charades. Heck, they even found his ever decreasing control of his vocal volume and lisp positively darling. Needless to say, he was making the most of his new situation. Hakkai was doing his best not to throttle the man.

Goku, on the other hand, was doing his best to cope by catering to Sanzo's every whim be it cruel or otherwise. The boy even did so much as to sleep outside the door in the hall when Sanzo yelled at him to get out. He was too upset to have gone to Hakkai and Gojyo's room. The demon looked at his hands as he remembered walking by the room to see the young body sleeping soundly on the floor; he looked like he was twelve again at the temple. The older demon was considering taking back his offer to switch with Goku so the boy could stay with Sanzo. Perhaps some time apart would do them both good. While it made Hakkai feel bad for Goku, at the same time he thought it was a bit nostalgic to think of Goku in his younger days. However, at the moment, Goku was trying to find the right brand of cigarettes and a newspaper.

Hakkai, well, he was having similar issues as Sanzo. The only thing the past few days have taught him, is that his voice was his best defense. A change in intonation, a certain inflection here or there and people got the point quickly no matter what it was he said. Writing things down did not create the same effect. It took him nearly twenty minutes to get a few of the locals to leave him alone when they tried soliciting him goods. And if that wasn't bad enough, he could tell Sanzo was suffering. The man hadn't even left his room for two days. Whether or not it had to do with his lack of coordination as of late, the demon wasn't sure. Hakkai wanted to tell him that things would be okay, and that he shouldn't worry. Or even just tell him that he was making breakfast and ask if Sanzo wanted coffee.

But he couldn't.

With Sanzo, he couldn't even write things down for him to read. Hakkai looked at Sanzo's hand gripping the sheets tightly next to him. The priest was being silent, but Hakkai could tell that his brain must be whirling. This silence had to be making him uncomfortable, if not the proximity between the two of them. Sanzo was never one for physical contact; Hakkai wondered how long it would be before Sanzo physically moved away. But, he could worry about Sanzo's issues with the corporal distance of his peers later. Currently, Hakkai was tempted to just buy a cane and just shove it in the blonde's hands and leave it at that so the man would at least come join them at breakfast. Surely Hakkai wouldn't have to explain a cane.

"Is there a reason you're sitting in here?" Sanzo growled out. Hakkai couldn't talk to him, and even if he could Sanzo did not want to talk to _him._ The man had no reason for being there and it was pissing Sanzo off. Knowing full well Hakkai couldn't answer, Sanzo continued. "Shouldn't you be off babysitting the water sprite?"

Hakkai frowned. Now Sanzo was just being spiteful. Personally, Hakkai thought Sanzo should be lucky it really _was_ Hakkai here to see him and not some other intruder. The fact they had yet to see another demon attack was a blessing in itself. Hakkai was tempted to just give the man what he wanted and leave to allow Sanzo to sulk. However, the priest wasn't the only one in a spiteful mood. Instead, Hakkai pulled his legs up on the bed and laid down full length with his head nestled just by Sanzo's thigh. Sanzo cursed to himself and Hakkai smiled. He should have just thrown his inhibitions to hell and put his head on the man's thigh.

Sanzo was mentally stewing over the nerve of his demon companion when he heard the door busting open with enough force to have the doorknob clatter against the wall. There was a crinkling of paper among the heavy clunking footsteps. "Goku."

"Hi Sanzo! Oh, Hakkai's with you." Goku noticed the brunette on the bed and blinked momentarily before setting his bag of groceries down on a wooden table in the center of the hotel room. Usually Hakkai was hanging out with the pervert water sprite. Goku squished the bitterness raring it's ugly head that Hakkai was allowed to sit with Sanzo when Goku was continually tossed out and yelled at. Hakkai was Sanzo's friend, too. And he was quieter, so Goku figured it made sense the older demon could sit with Sanzo. Didn't make him feel any better, though. "I got your cigarettes and some canned peaches and stuff."

Sanzo grunted in response and pulled out his lighter. He held his hand out for Goku to stick the pack in his hand. "Bring them here."

"Okay." Goku pulled out the cigarettes and walked over with a slight bounce in his step. Sanzo had gotten much better about his cigarettes over the past few days. He had only burnt himself twice since that first time, but Goku still watched the stick to make sure. So far, Goku had to 'accidently knock into Sanzo' to get rid of a cigarette about to burn him only once. Goku rubbed his arm as he looked down at Hakkai still on the bed. "Is Gojyo still out?" He'd learned to started asking questions that had 'yes' or 'no' answers. Hakkai was starting to get a twitch when he wrote out his notes. "I didn't see him in his room."

Hakkai nodded yes from his place on the bed before throwing a limp arm over his eyes. Hakkai brushed Sanzo's sleeve on purpose with the motion and smirked when the man nearly growled. Though, Hakkai was rather tired, actually. His original intention of coming to the room was to check on Sanzo and go to bed. It was late enough in the evening to go to sleep. Hakkai was tempted to just go to sleep here in Sanzo's bed and let the blonde deal with it. He'd get over it soon enough.

"Ah," Goku mumbled next to the bed. He listened to the click of Sanzo's lighter and backed up a few steps to sit on the other bed. It was quiet and Goku wasn't quite sure what to do with himself now. Was Hakkai staying in this room tonight? That was the normal arrangement, but Hakkai had let Goku stay with Sanzo for the past two nights, so he assumed...Goku bit his lip. Maybe Hakkai was sick of staying with the water sprite for so long. But they lived together before so that can't be it. Goku literally shook his head as he tried to clear his thoughts. Best to just ask. "Are you staying in here tonight, Hakkai?"

Hakkai looked at the boy without removing his arm from his face and considered his options. On the one hand, he was sure Sanzo would appreciate a quiet night. Even Hakkai was aware of the constant chatter that came from Goku when he was nervous for his favorite person. However, staying close to Sanzo was probably the only thing keeping Goku from breaking down completely. Hakkai sighed and shook his head. He pushed himself up and rubbed Sanzo's knee affectionately with his hand as a quick goodnight.

"Ah, bye Hakkai." Goku spoke quickly as he watched Hakkai give him a short wave and walk out the door. It clicked shut softly. Goku heard a rustling from the side and noticed Sanzo pulling off his robes. "Going to bed, Sanzo?"

"What's it look like?" Sanzo snarled as he threw the robe on the floor. The nerve of that man touching him so freely and invading his personal space. It was far worse than the monkey's clinging hands. His knee still felt hot from the touch. "Wake me and I'll kill you."

"Night." Goku sighed and started to unhook his own cape and armor. Maybe things would be better in the morning.

-----

They were laughing, but he couldn't hear them. It was like watching a dirty movie on mute because he didn't want Hakkai to know what he was doing. Gojyo smirked and laughed right along anyway as they pressed their flush bodies against his and moved their hands in all the right places. Of all the senses he could have lost; hearing was probably the least effective. He couldn't hear their pretty voices or moans, but he could still feel the soft skin and see the luscious lips that pouted and pressed. Hanna, Josephine and one other girl who's name he couldn't even begin to pronounce even though she'd written it out for him.

"Ah, now that's not fair." Gojyo laughed out as he saw the pad of paper being hidden behind one of the girls. Josephine, maybe? Either way, the girl feel back onto the bed and the soft sheets with a sly smirk. She was being playful, but it was still a little disconcerting. Her lips were moving, and he was trying to concentrate on the words that could possibly be formed by those subtle movements -but he was coming up with blanks. He had no idea what they were saying as they giggled and laughed.

Where they making fun of him? And just pretending to have a good time or were they still under the Gojyo charm? "How am I supposed to know what you ladies want?" Gojyo smirked and turned to the girl practically sitting next to his side. He snatched her up into his lap with a laugh and a smirk of his own. "Or would you rather I try to guess?"

Hanna laughed and squirmed as the man dug his fingers into her side. She wriggled helplessly in his lap as he applied just the right amount of pressure. "You're so bad!" He smiled at her, but she could tell there was a bit of confusion behind his red eyes. Poor man really couldn't understand what she or her friends were saying; at first they thought he could lip-sync but it was becoming more and more obvious that he could not. The woman dug her hands into his hair as his mouth found its way to her neck and the other two complained about the lack of attention.

At least he was still cute.

-----

"Sanzo?" Goku started quietly. Hakkai was already making breakfast downstairs and Gojyo was in an annoyingly good mood. The only one that was left was Sanzo, who was still sulking in that same corner of the bed. The monkey took a deep breath and tried to smile; you could still hear when someone was smiling or frowning when the spoke. "Um, we were going to go out into town and get some supplies after breakfast. Do you want to come?"

The monk considered his options. If he said no, he was sure to be pestered. The monkey was the one asking now, but knowing his luck that damn demon would be in here soon after. Either way, he'd deal with the monkey whining or Hakkai physically trying of move him out of the bed. Sanzo had spent all of last night thinking about himself and what he could and could not do. The only conclusion that he had come to, was that Sanzo was tired of everything and just wanted to curl up.

Well, his legs were a bit stiff and it wouldn't kill him to get something to eat. "Maybe after breakfast."

If Sanzo could see, he'd notice the practical near-glow that Goku was sporting. Maybe Sanzo was just too tired to be stubborn, but the man was actually getting up and leaving the room! This was definitely a step in the right direction and Goku was more than happy to make sure it kept going that way. "Come on! Hakkai made sausage and stuff with the hotel kitchen."

Sanzo snorted at the excitement in the monkey's voice. _Perfect._ "Keep your voice down, I can still hear."

"Sorry, Sanzo." Goku bit his lip and waited patiently for Sanzo to slip his feet off the bed and hit the ground. He pushed himself up and stood easily enough, but it was always this pause afterwards that made Goku worry.

Sanzo reached for the side table with his free hand and tapped it. He was trying to remember which direction the door was from this table when he first came in the room. Goku's voice was coming from his left, but he hadn't been paying attention when the boy first came in, so it was almost impossible to tell if he was still standing by the door. His knuckles were turning white from the frustration.

"Sanzo?" Goku started slowly. "Are you okay?"

"Are you by the door?"

The clipped tone startled Goku, but he nodded anyway. He cursed softly before replying out loud. "Yes."

So the door was to the left. Sanzo took a deep breath before taking a step in that direction. Well, he hadn't hit a bed or anything in the way, yet. So far so good. The man continued his shaky steps gaining more confidence as he went. This was ridiculous; it was a hotel room. As long as he got by the beds he shouldn't have anything to run into. Save for the monkey. "What are you doing?"

Goku sighed as he continued to hold onto Sanzo's shoulders. The man sounded angry; but it would have been worse if he had kept going in that direction so confidently. Goku's voice was mumbled as he tried to inform Sanzo as painlessly as possible about his chosen path. "You were going to walk into the doorframe."

"Shit."

"Hey, Sanzo."

"What?" Sanzo's voice sounded defeated.

"Hakkai was writing on his pad that maybe you'd like a cane? That way you could feel what's in front of you?" Goku wasn't sure why he was bringing this up to Sanzo now. It was just something Hakkai had mentioned in one of his note conversations with Gojyo; Hakkai hadn't even really mentioned it to Goku personally. "I think it's a good idea."

Sanzo frowned. A cane? Was he really that invalid? While it seemed possible, Sanzo still refused to admit it. "I don't need a cane."

"But-"

"Just drop it, Goku." Sanzo muttered. "Help me downstairs. I'm too tired for this."

"Okay, Sanzo." The youngest member was upset about Sanzo's depressed mood, but the other half was happy he asked for help. Sanzo must really, really be down about everything if he caved to asking Goku for help. So why was Goku so happy about it? "Let's go, I can smell breakfast from here and it smells so good."

Sanzo just grunted and let the monkey take his arm.

Hakkai was pouring Gojyo a cup of tea as he heard the footsteps coming downstairs. He smiled and waved happily at Goku as he helped Sanzo down each step. Sanzo had an almost defeated look on his face and Hakkai frowned. He had hoped the fact he had come out of the room was a sign he was feeling better. But the look on his face and the use of Goku as a crutch spoke volumes.

"Well if it isn't the monk." Gojyo smirked and licked his teeth. He watched Sanzo's lips as he snarled something at him. He just smiled because he couldn't hear that grating, annoying voice. Probably one of the only perks of his hearing loss. He didn't have to listen to that stuck-up, bastard of a priest. "Sorry, can't hear ya'."

Hakkai rolled his eyes and settled into sit at the table himself before pulling out his pad. He scribbled _BEHAVE_ in large bold letters and shoved it under Gojyo's nose. The man was still smirking, but he shut his mouth in favor of chewing his breakfast. That matter settled, Hakkai filled a plate with rice, sausage and a few eggs before letting the plate clink down in front of the blonde. He discreetly nudged the fork into contact with the man's hand and let him figure out the rest.

Sanzo felt the fork hit his finger and wrapped his hand around it carefully. The monkey was stuffing his face beside him; it sounded even louder and worse than usual. It was almost creepy hearing the gnashing of teeth and lip smacking that came with the sound of an animal eating. If he wasn't sure it was Goku next to him, he'd almost think it was a monster or large animal ripping something apart. Suddenly Sanzo didn't feel very hungry.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Goku paused as he looked at the man beside him. A shiver went down his spine as the man's head turned towards him. Goku had forgotten to look down and his eyes were locked with those milky irises. Gods above he hated those eyes. His voice was rattled when he spoke again. "Do you need any-"

"I don't need help eating." Sanzo snapped. "I'm just not hungry."

"But you haven't eaten very much." Goku paused.

"I'm not hungry." Sanzo slammed his fork down. "I've been able to eat on my own just fine before, drop it."

Hakkai took a deep breath and tried to finish his own food calmly. It was going to be an interesting day if this start was anything to go by. Hakkai only hoped that too many problems wouldn't arise from the tense atmosphere.

-----

"Write a note, smack him in the head, I don't care. Just get that stupid water sprite to shut up!"

Hakkai flinched from Sanzo's snarled order. There was far more venom in his tone than usual and it worried Hakkai. This wasn't his usual grumpy anger; there was real hate edging into his voice. The helplessness Sanzo was facing was making him more bitter than usual and it had time to fester from this morning. he'd gone from depression to rage in such a quick turn around, Hakkai wasn't sure what to make of things.

Granted, Hakkai would be bitter as well. It was obvious Sanzo was not adjusting well, and while it was rumored that when you lose one sense the others become more keen – Sanzo was proving an exception. The only thing Hakkai could tell that was improving was his hearing, and even then- only slightly. Hakkai sighed as he watched Goku start glaring at his backseat companion in Jeep.

Gojyo was not helping the situation. While his lady companions thought the inflections in his voice was darling, it was becoming an increasing annoyance for the rest of the group. His loss of hearing was preventing him from realizing just how loud he was speaking. Hakkai wished he'd just start muttering or something; the yelling was grating. He turned around in the seat and snapped his fingers in front of Gojyo's eyes; the motion caught his attention well enough and interrupted his monologue.

"What?" Gojyo pouted. Hakkai was glaring at him and there were slight lines under his eyes. The monk's foul mood was rubbing off on their driver and in turn put Gojyo in a pretty bad mood itself. It wasn't fair that Sanzo's inability to cope was causing such problems for everyone else. Hakkai and he were dealing just fine with the new situation. Or so Gojyo liked to tell himself, anyway. "I wasn't doing anything, the monkey and I were having a conversation. It's not my fault his handwriting is illegible."

Goku frowned and put the pen to Hakkai's pad and scrawled out in capitals _TOO LOUD_ and shoved it in Gojyo's face. "You're making Sanzo upset!"

"I'm not being too loud!" Gojyo frowned in his seat; he wanted to make a better comeback, but he didn't know what else Goku had said. Not that he really needed it spelled out: Everything was always about the monk. The monk couldn't see, well who cared? Gojyo couldn't hear and Hakkai couldn't speak. There was nothing special about him. Gojyo looked out the side of the door at the scenery flying by. They had given up on the cave and decided to just keep going with the journey. Gojyo wasn't completely sure how they came to that decision, but he was pretty sure Hakkai made it on his own. "Whatever."

Goku huffed as the water sprite turned his back on them. At least he was quiet now. Sanzo in the front relaxed his shoulder slightly and Goku smiled. They'd deal with Gojyo's issues later, but for right now all that mattered was Sanzo was feeling just a little bit better now that it was quiet. Goku stretched his arms over his head before settling into the seat. A nap sounded good right about now. Or he would have liked to have a nap. He felt Jeep come to a stop and looked up past Hakkai and Sanzo and cursed.

"What is it?" Sanzo asked the empty air. The Jeep wasn't moving and he could hear movement in the back from the others. "Goku, what's going on?"

"Demons."


End file.
